Medicine-case.



No. 938,619. atented nec. 5, |399. W. F. BARNES.

' MEDICINE CASE.

(Application filed Apr. 4, 1899.)

(No Modal.)

"00001967090 ,Lf/@Q00 8G09 QQ@ @QQ'QJ III/Il UNITED 'Y STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM F. BARNES, OE WALDRON, MICHIGAN.

MEDICINE-CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 638,619, dated December 5, 1899.

Application filed April 4, 1899. Serial No. 711,709. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. BARNES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Waldron, in the county of Hillsdale and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Medicine-Cases; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to medicine-cases, and is in the nature of an improvement upon the construction illustrated and described in Letters Patent No. 620,013, granted to me February 2l, 1899.

The object of the present invention is to render the medicine-case as a whole more compact and secure an arrangement of bottle 0r vial carriers, instru ment-receptacle, and pocket for powder-papers, Sac., whereby more convenient access is obtained to the several parts hereinabove mentioned, the arrangement at the same time avoiding the interference of one movable part with another.

The invention also contemplates a novel construction of plate or clasp for holding the bottles or vials, said clasp being extensible, so as to accommodate vials or bottles of varying sizes.

The detailed objects and advantages of the invention will appear more fully in the course of the subjoined description.

The invention consists in certain novel features and details of construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the drawings, and incorporated in the claims hereto appended.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal horizontal section through the improved medicine-case closed. Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the case thrown open on its hinge, also showing in dotted lines one of the bottle-carriers swung partially open. Fig. 3 is a detail vertical cross-section on the line o: :c of Fig. 2, showing the hinged receptacle thrown downward for giving access thereto. Fig. 1t is a detail perspective view of a series oi' clasps formed in one piece.

5 is a plan View of the blank from which the series of clasps are formed.

Similar numerals of reference designate cor- Fig.

responding parts in allthe tigu res of the draw-V ings. f

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the improved medicine case contemplated in this invention is divided longitudinally and vertically on a central line, (indii cated at 1.) ThetwoA parts of the case (indicated at 2 and 3) are similar and are preferably counterparts one of the other, said parts or sections being hinged together at one end and at their inner meeting edges, as indicated at'4, thus enabling the two parts of the case to be thrown outward on their hinged connection andbrought into a position at substantially right angles to each other, as shown in Fig. 2, for giving access to the interior parts. The two parts of the case may be constructed of any preferred material and suitably ornamented or covered with leather or other material, according to the desire of the manufacturer. The case as a whole is also intended to be equipped with a suitable carrying handle or grip, (not shown,) and it is also intended to provide suitable means for fastening or holding together the two parts of the case when closed. As such fastening device may be of any well-known form or construction, illustration and further description thereof are considered unnecessary.

Extending longitudinally within each half or section of the case is a plurality of bottle or -vial carriers 5. Each of said carriers is composed, preferably, of sheet metal, one end the case, and the extensions are provided IOO Extending along one side of one of the halves or'sections of the case is a flexible pocket 10, of leather or similar material, the ends of which may be formed in the shape of bellows, as indicated at 1l, so as to increase the holding capacity of the pocket. This pocket is designed to hold powder-papers, prescription-blanks, die., and is hinged along its bottom edge to its respective section of the casing, and when the casing is open, as shownin Fig. 2, said pocket drops downward, so as to lie flat upon the table or other support upon which the case is placed, thus enabling the bottle-carriers to be swung outward over said pocket, the pocket thus not interfering with the opening and closing of the bottle-holders. W'hen the pocket is folded upward in vertical position, so to lie against the contiguous tier or row of bottles, it forms a protection therefor and is, infact, a cushion which lies between the inner tiers or rows of bottles when the case is closed, as shown in Fig. 1, thereby preventing the possible breakage of any of the bottles and serving also to hold'the bottle-carriers and the bottles carried thereby snugly in their respective portions of the case.

vThe bottle-clasps are omitted along one of the sides of one of t-he bottle-carriers, (indicated at 12,) thus leaving a space in rear of said bottle-carrier, and in said space is located an instrument-receptacle 13. The receptacle 13 is hinged at its lower inner edge, as indicated at 14, and is provided alongV its vertical outer side with a lid 15, which may be hinged or otherwise connected to the receptacle. When the carrier 12 is swung outward from its portion of the case, the receptacle 13 may be folded or swung downward, as shown in Fig. 3, thus giving access to said receptacle by means of the lid 15. The receptacle is designed for the reception of such instruments as a physician needsin his everyday practice.

The clasps (indicated at 16) are formed in in one piece from sheet metal. The blank from which the clasps are formed is illustrated in Fig. 5. A strip of sheet metal of any'desired length and Width is incised longitudinally, as at 17, and transversely, as at 1S, to form tongues or arms 19, which are subsequently bent into curved forni to properly embrace the vials or bottles, the extremities of said tongues being reversel deflected to admit of the more ready insertion of the bottles therein. Transverselyextending uncut portions 2O are allowed to remain between the tongues 19, and the edge portions of the strip are crimped and bent upon themselves,as shown at 2l,thus bringing the clasps into close relation to each other, as shown in Fig. 4. By drawingoutlengthwise theseries of clasps and partially opening or unbending the crimps 21 and correspondingly spreading the arms or tongues 19 the clasps may be increased in size for accommodating vials or bottles of larger sizes. Ordinarily one pair of arms or tongues 19 is sufficient to retain in place one into a right-angular relation, as shown in Fig.

2, the case will stand by itself upon a table i 8o or other support, and the individual bottlecarriers may then be swung open for giving access to the bottles on each side thereof.

In opening the case the pocket 10 falls into a horizontal position, so as not to interfere with themovements of the bottle-carriers, and when the bottle-carrier 12 is swung open the instrument-receptacle may be swungV downward so as to give access thereto. In

this Way and by the arrangement described ready access is obtained to all parts of the case, which will be found very desirable in practice.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured lby Letters Patent, is-

1. A medicine-case divided vertically and longitudinally into two similar parts hinged end to end, in combination with bottle-carriers hinged within and about the middle of their respective parts of the case and arranged to swing in opposite directions in horizontal planes, substantially as described.

2. A medicine-case divided vertically and longitudinally into similar parts and hinged Y end to end on a Vertical axis, and arranged to swing open horizontally, in combination withv a plurality of bottle-carriers located within each part of the case and having their ends bent transversely and connected to a common vertical hinge-pin arranged intermediate th'e ends of the casing andat or near the inner edge of its respective part of the casing, substantially as described.

3. A medicine-case divided longitudinally to form similar parts, said parts being hinged end to end, in combination with a cushion lying between the meeting edges of the two parts of the casing and connected thereto so as to fold downward-when the case is thrown open and between the adjacent tiers of bottles when the case is closed, substantially as described.

4. A medicine-case divided longitudinally and having the two parts thereof hinged end to end, in combination with bottle-carriers hinged within their respective parts of the case, and a flexible pocket located adjacent to the meetingedges of the parts of the case and hinged along one edge to one of the parts of the case and also adapted to fold between the tiers of bottles when the case is closed, substantially as described.

5. A medicine-case divided longitudinally and having the parts thereof hinged end to IOO end, in combination with bottle carriers hinged within their respective parts of the case and adapted to swing outward from said parts, and a hinged receptacle located in rear of one of the bottle-carriers and held in place by said carrier when the latter is in closed position, substantially as described.

6. A medicine-case divided longitudinally and having the parts thereof hinged end to end, in combination with bottle carriers hinged within their respective parts of the case, and a .receptacle in the form of a box located in rear of one of the bottle-holders and hinged along its bottom edge whereby it is adapted to fold downward when the adjacent bottle-carrier has been swung outward from its respective portion of the case, substantially as described.

7. A medicine-case divided longitudinally and having the two parts thereof hinged end to end, in combination with bottle-carriers hinged within the parts of the case and adapted to swing outward therefrom, and a receptacle in the form of a box hinged along its bottom edge in rear of one of the bottle-carriers and adapted to fold downward, said receptacle being provided with a lid whichv forms the upper side of the box or receptacle when the latter is swung downward, substantially as described.

8. A series of bottle-holding clips formed in one piece from sheet metal, the samev be-l the strip also being crimped so as to make.

it longitudinally extensible, for the purpose specified. y

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM F. BARNES. Witnesses:

M. S. SHELDON, PAUL BERLEEN. 

